Methods and apparatus for line selection in a communication device

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of an apparatus and methods for selecting a communication line from two or more lines on a communication device are described herein. The communication device comprises a display module, an input module, a line selection module, and a communication module for making a call over a network to a target recipient. In one broad aspect, a determination of which of the communication lines is a communication line associated with the one of two or more message addresses at which a message is received is made in the selection of a communication line accessible at the communication device on which an outgoing call may be placed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to communications devices, and morespecifically to mobile devices that allow outgoing calls to be made by auser on a communication line selected from a plurality of communicationlines.

BACKGROUND

Communications devices with the ability to consolidate multiplefunctions into a single device are becoming increasingly popular. Forexample, such a communications device may be used as a telephone and fore-mail. In addition, it is common for an individual to use such acommunications device for many aspects of their lives such as work andpersonal use.

A user may wish to use a different phone line when making calls todifferent parties. For example, when calling a work colleague, a usermay wish to use a line dedicated for work use so that, when the workcolleague receives the call on their communications device, the user'swork phone number is identified. Likewise, when calling a friend, theuser may wish to use a line for personal use so that, when the friendreceives the call on their communications device, the user's personalphone number is identified. The use of multiple lines may also be usefulfor tracking long distance bills and other billing matters.

Systems for selecting alternate lines exist and are commonly known as“Alternate Line Service” (ALS). In one known system, when a user wishesto make a call on an alternate line, they must open a menu and manuallyselect the alternate line. Due to the added operating steps and time itwould take to configure the call, it is not convenient to use analternate line. In addition, the user may accidentally make a call onthe wrong line by forgetting to select an alternate line or by selectingthe wrong line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of embodiments described herein, and to showmore clearly how they may be carried into effect, reference will now bemade, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows in block diagram form a mobile communications deviceincorporating a line selection mechanism in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows, in diagrammatic form, a front view of an exemplaryimplementation of the mobile communications device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows in block diagram form further aspects of the mobilecommunications device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A shows in diagrammatic form an example of a graphical userinterface screen for an address book for the device;

FIG. 4B shows in diagrammatic form an address book entry for thegraphical user interface screen;

FIG. 4C shows a further view of the address book entry on the graphicaluser interface screen;

FIG. 4D shows a further view of the address book entry for the graphicaluser interface screen;

FIG. 5A shows a screen display for a missed call indicator;

FIG. 5B shows a screen display for a menu associated with the missedcall indicator of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C shows a screen display for another form of the missed callindicator;

FIG. 6A shows a screen display for a call log;

FIG. 6B shows a screen display with a menu associated with the call log;

FIG. 7A shows a screen display on the graphical user interface for a newvoice mail indicator;

FIG. 7B shows a screen display for a menu associated with a new voicemail indicator of FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A shows a diagrammatic view of an electronic mail messagegraphical user interface screen;

FIG. 8B shows a diagrammatic view of a menu associated with anelectronic mail message;

FIG. 9A shows a diagrammatic view of line selection setup graphical userinterface screen;

FIG. 9B shows a diagrammatic view of a phone module graphical userinterface screen;

FIG. 10A shows a diagrammatic view of an appointment record graphicaluser interface screen;

FIG. 10B shows a diagrammatic view of a menu associated with anappointment record;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating acts performed in a method ofplacing a call on a communication line selected from at least twocommunication lines on which outgoing calls are placed using a mobiledevice in one example embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating acts performed in a method ofplacing a call on a communication line selected from at least twocommunication lines on which outgoing calls are placed using a mobiledevice in another example embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating acts performed in a method ofplacing a call on a communication line selected from at least twocommunication lines on which outgoing calls are placed using a mobiledevice in another example embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating acts performed in a method ofplacing a call on a communication line selected from at least twocommunication lines on which outgoing calls are placed using a mobiledevice in another example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In one broad aspect, there is provided a method of placing a call on acommunication line selected from at least two communication lines onwhich outgoing calls are placed using a mobile device, wherein themobile device is configured to receive messages at any of two or moremessage addresses, said method comprising: receiving a messagecomprising data identifying a target recipient at one of the two or moremessage addresses; monitoring for initiation of a call to the targetrecipient; upon detecting the initiation of the call to the targetrecipient, determining which of the at least two communication lines isa communication line associated with the one of the two or more messageaddresses at which the message is received; and placing the call to thetarget recipient on the determined communication line of the at leasttwo communication lines which is the communication line associated withthe one of the two or more message addresses at which the message isreceived.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing anexample of an electronic communications device 10 suitable for use witha line selection mechanism in accordance with embodiments describedherein. The communication device 10 generally comprises a two-way mobilecommunication device having voice and messaging communicationscapabilities. The electronic communication device 10 may take variousforms or implementations such as, but not limited to, a datacommunication device, a multiple-mode communication device configuredfor both data and voice communications, a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA) enabled for wireless communication, a computersystem with a wireless modem or wireless network card, or a computer orphone device with a fixed connection to a network. The device 10 mayalso be implemented as a handheld or portable device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 10 includes a communicationsubsystem 11. The communication subsystem 11 may comprise a receiver(not shown), a transmitter (not shown), and associated components suchas an antenna element (not shown), and a controller such as a digitalsignal processor (DSP). As will be apparent to those skilled in the art,the particular design of the communication subsystem 11 may depend onthe communication network(s) in which the device 10 is intended tooperate.

Signals received by the communication device 10 from a wirelesscommunication network 50 are input to the receiver (not shown) of thecommunication subsystem 11, which may perform such common receiverfunctions such as, without limitation, signal amplification,frequency-down conversion, filtering, channel selection and the like. Ina similar manner, signals to be transmitted may be processed by the DSPadapted to perform, for example, modulation and encoding and input tothe transmitter for digital-to-analog conversion, frequency-upconversion, filtering, amplification and transmission over the wirelesscommunication network 50.

The communication device 10 includes a microprocessor or microcontrollerdevice 38. The microprocessor operates under stored program control(e.g. firmware) and is suitably programmed to control the overalloperation of the communication device 10 and other functions asdescribed below. The microprocessor 38 may interact with thecommunications subsystem 11 and may also interact with further devicesubsystems such as, without limitation: a display module 22, a flashmemory 24, a random access memory (RAM) 26, one or more auxiliaryinput/output (I/O) subsystems or devices 28 (e.g. a thumbwheel 28 a asshown in FIG. 2, or a trackball), a serial port 30, an input device e.g.a keyboard or keypad 32, a speaker 34, a microphone 36, a short-rangecommunications subsystem 40, and other device subsystems or moduleswhich are generally designated by reference 42.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the microprocessor 38, in addition to itsoperating system functions, may enable execution of the softwareapplications 58 on the device. The software applications 58 may controlbasic device operations, including data and voice communicationapplications for example, and may be installed (e.g. “burned”) in thedevice 10 as firmware during manufacture. Further software applicationsmay also be loaded onto the device 10 through the wireless communicationnetwork 50, an auxiliary I/O subsystem or module 28, serial port 30,short-range communications subsystem 40 or any other suitable subsystem42, and may be installed by a user (or automatically) in the RAM 26 or anon-volatile memory device for execution by the microprocessor 38. Suchflexibility in application installation may increase the functionalityof the device 10 and may provide enhanced on-device functions,communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using the device 10.

In data communication mode, a received signal such as a text message orweb page download is processed by the communication subsystem 11 andinput to the microprocessor 38, which may further process the receivedsignal for output to the display 22 through a graphics module, forexample in the subsystem 42, or alternatively to an auxiliary I/O device28. A user of the communication device 10 may also compose data itemswithin a software application 58, such as e-mail messages and phonenumbers for example, using the keyboard 32 in conjunction with thedisplay 22 and for the auxiliary I/O device 28 (e.g. the thumbwheel 28a). Such composed items may then be transmitted and received over acommunication network (e.g. the wireless network 50) through thecommunication subsystem 11.

The serial port 30 (which may be for example a universal serial bus(USB) port) in FIG. 1 allows a user to set preferences through anexternal device or software application. This may extend thecapabilities of the device 10 by providing for information or softwaredownloads to the device 10 other than through the wireless communicationnetwork 50.

The short-range communication subsystem 40 provides for communicationbetween the device 10 and different systems or devices, which need notnecessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-rangecommunication subsystem 40 may comprise an infrared device andassociated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communicationmodule, to provide for communication with similarly enabled systems anddevices.

The wireless communication network 50 may comprise a wireless wide areapacket data network, (e.g. Mobitex™ or DataTAC™), which provides radiocoverage to mobile implementations of the device 10. The wirelesscommunication network 50 may comprise a voice and data network such asGSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and GPRS (General PacketRadio System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), EV-DO(Evolution-Data Optimized), EVDO (Evolution-Data only) or various otherthird generation networks such as EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSMEvolution), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems), or HSDPA(High Speed Downlink Packet Access), for example. In anotherimplementation or embodiment, the wireless communication network 50comprises a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a networkaccording to one of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. In anotherimplementation or embodiment, the communication device 10 is configuredto communicate in both data and voice modes over both wireless WAN andWLAN networks and to roam between such networks.

Stored program control may include operating system software 54 andother software applications or functions 58 used by the microprocessor38. The program (i.e. firmware) may be stored in a persistent (i.e.non-volatile) device such as flash memory 24 or on another storagedevice. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operatingsystem 54, the software applications 58, or parts thereof, may betemporarily loaded into a volatile store such as RAM 26. It iscontemplated that received communication signals may also be stored toRAM 26.

Reference is next made to FIG. 2, which shows, in diagrammatic form, afront view of one embodiment of the communication device 10 implementedas a handheld unit and indicated generally by reference 20. The handhelddevice 20 includes a display screen 44, an alphanumeric keyboard orkeypad 32 and the thumbwheel 28 a.

Reference is next made to FIG. 3, which depicts the software application58 (FIG. 1) resident (i.e. loaded or stored) on the device 10 andimplemented as functional components or modules 300. The functionalcomponents or modules 300 interact and control the device subsystemsdescribed above, and may comprise, for example, an address book module304, a calendar module 305, a communication module 306, and an e-mailand/or instant messaging module 308. Although the communication module306 is described and shown herein primarily as a phone communicationmodule 306, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments thecommunication module may comprise a data communication device orvoice/data communication device. The features/operations associated withthe functional modules 300 may be implemented through firmware orhardware components, or a combination of hardware and firmware executedby the microprocessor 38.

Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 3, modules 300 may comprise one ormore input modules that processes inputs received from the user throughone or more input devices (e.g. through keyboard or auxiliary inputs 28,28 a, 32) for use by other modules 300. Similarly, modules 300 maycomprise one or more output modules (e.g. a display module) that processoutput to be presented (e.g. displayed in display screen 44) to users.It will be appreciated that some or all of the functionality of such oneor more input and/or output modules may be provided by one or more othermodules 300.

The address book module 304 provides the functionality to store andaccess contact information, such as telephone numbers and e-mail and/orinstant text messaging addresses, as well as information such as acontact's name, company name, address, notes about the contact andcontact category (e.g. work, personal, etc). The calendar module 305provides the functionality to store and access appointment records,which may comprising data such as, without limitation: date, start time,end time, time zone data, duration, location, description, recurrenceinterval data, and reminder setting data, as well as information thatidentifies an associated appointment category from a plurality ofappointment categories (e.g. work, personal, etc). The phone module 306allows the device 10 to operate as a voice phone (or a video phone inanother implementation) over the wireless network 50 and/or othernetworks. The messaging module 308 provides the communication device 10with the capability to send and receive electronic messages such ase-mail and/or text messages over the wireless network 50 and/or othernetworks.

As shown in FIG. 2, the functional modules 300 may each have anassociated selectable icon that is displayed on the screen 44 as part ofa graphical user interface. As shown, the address book module 304 may beidentified by an associated icon 304 a. The calendar module 305 may beidentified by an associated icon 305 a. The phone module 306 may beidentified by an associated icon 306 a and the electronic messagingmodule 308 may be identified by an associated icon 308 a.

In at least one example embodiment, the phone module 306 is configuredto access at least a first communication line and a second communicationline for transmitting outgoing calls and receiving incoming calls.Accordingly, the communication device 10 may have associated therewithat least a first and a second call number (e.g. phone number)corresponding to the first line and to the second line respectively. Forexample, a user may use a first communication line having acorresponding first phone number for work use, and a secondcommunication line having a corresponding second phone number forpersonal use.

A communication line may generally comprise a line on which phone callsmay be made and/or received. Typically, the line will be capable ofsupporting voice communications. However, lines that are capable ofsupporting only non-voice data communications or lines that are capableof supporting both voice and non-voice data communications may also be acommunication line accessible at the communication device 10. Forexample, lines supporting Voice over IP (VoIP) communications, videophone lines, and lines that might only support SMS or instant messagecommunications may be provided as communication lines.

As shown in FIG. 3, the communication device 10 comprises a lineselection module 310 for selecting which communication line should beused by the phone module 306 to, for example, place an outgoing call toa target recipient. In some embodiments, line selection module 310 mayselect the communication line to be used based upon line selectioninformation stored on the device 10. The line selection information maycomprise, for example, a record of which line is a default line.

When the user initiates a phone call to a target recipient, themicroprocessor 38 under program control determines the selectedcommunication line for the line selection module 310, and passes it onto the phone module 306. It should be noted that the functions of lineselection module 310 may be implemented in a component or function ofthe phone module 306. The functions of line selection module 310 may beimplemented in some other module, for example, the address book module304.

According to one implementation, when a user makes a phone call, theline selection module 310 selects a default line. This default line maybe pre-selected by the user, for example by way of a line selection userinterface screen as will be described in more detail below. The defaultline may be the first communication line, the second communication lineor any other communication line.

The line that is used for a call to a particular target recipient may berecorded by the microprocessor 38 in association with that targetrecipient so that the next time a call is made to that target recipient,the line selection module 310 selects the recorded line. It should benoted that the term “target recipient” is referred to herein as thephone number, person, company or the like to whom/which an outgoing callis made. The term “target recipient” may also be taken to mean one ormore persons, companies or the like.

In at least one example embodiment, the frequency with which acommunication line is used may also be recorded by the microprocessor 38and used by line selection module 310 to select a communication line onwhich an outgoing call to a target recipient may be placed. In oneembodiment, the communication line most frequency used on the device 10may be selected, to be calculated based on outgoing calls that havepreviously been placed from the device 10. The calculation may be madebased on outgoing calls placed on a particular communication line duringsome pre-defined period of time. For example, the communication linethat has been used most frequently for placing outgoing calls in thelast seven days may be the line selected for the next outgoing call,unless the user specifically requests the use of a differentcommunication line. When an outgoing call is made, line selectioninformation comprising line selection data identifying the communicationline on which the outgoing call is made may be stored, so that it may beused in at least one subsequent determination of which communicationline is the most frequently used one on device 10. In theabove-described embodiments, the communication line most frequently usedthus far on the device 10 is selected without regard to the individualor entity being called; however, in variant embodiments, thecommunication line most frequently used to call a specific targetrecipient may be determined. According to at least one other exampleembodiment, the communication line determined to be the most frequentlyused communication line on the device may be calculated basedadditionally, or alternatively, on incoming calls that have previouslybeen received at the device 10.

According to another example embodiment, target recipients for whichdata is stored as entries in the address book of the address book module304 are each associated with a particular line. When a call is placed toa particular target recipient, the line selection module 310 selects thecommunication line associated with that particular target recipient.

According to at least other example embodiment, messaging module 308(FIG. 3) may be configured to receive messages (e.g. e-mail messages,instant messages, SMS messages) at any of two or more message addresses(e.g. e-mail addresses, SMS addresses which may be a phone number,instant message addresses). For instance, messaging module 308 (FIG. 3)may be configured to receive e-mail messages addressed to a user'sbusiness e-mail address as well as to receive e-mail messages directedto a user's personal e-mail address.

Some messages may contain certain data that identifies a potentialtarget recipient for a call. For instance, an e-mail message may containtext that identifies a particular individual, which may or may not bethe message sender, by name, phone number and/or an e-mail address, forexample. The messaging module 308 may provide a user interface in whichusers of the device 10 may review the text of messages. The userinterface may be configured to highlight, for example, the name or phonenumber of the individual displayed in the message text as auser-selectable link. In use, when the link is selected, an instructionmay be sent to the phone module 306 to initiate a call to the individualassociated with the selected item. It may be necessary to associate aselected name (or selected e-mail address for example) to a phone numberfor the individual (i.e. the target recipient of the call to be placed)using data contained in an address book, which is managed by the addressbook module 304 for example, prior to initiating the call.

When a call to a target recipient is initiated upon selection of dataidentifying the target recipient in the message, the line selectionmodule 310 may determine the communication line to be used to place thecall as a communication line that is associated with the message addressat which the message was received. For example, a business e-mailaddress may be associated with a business line such that when a targetrecipient is identified in the text of an e-mail message received at thebusiness e-mail address and a call to that target recipient isinitiated, the line selection module 310 may select the associatedcommunication line identified by the user as the “business” line forplacing the call. Line selection information comprising dataidentifying, for each of two or more message addresses, whichcommunication line of at least two communication lines accessible atdevice 10 is associated therewith, is stored on device 10 for use, forexample, by line selection module 310.

According to at least one other example embodiment, appointment recordsare stored on device 10 and managed by the calendar module 305. Anappointment record may be associated with one of at least twoappointment categories (e.g. business, personal, etc). The appointmentcategory to be associated with a particular appointment record may beone that is selected by the user when the appointment record is firstcreated, for example. A default category may also be associated withappointment records. The appointment category associated with aparticular appointment record may also be modified (e.g. by a user oradministrator) from time to time.

Some appointment records may contain data that identifies a potentialtarget recipient for a call. For instance, an appointment record maycontain data that identifies a particular individual, such as the nameof a person with whom the user of device 10 has an appointment. Thisdata may comprise a name, phone number and/or an e-mail address of theindividual, for example. The calendar module 305 may provide a userinterface in which users of the device 10 may review details of theirappointments. The user interface may be configured to highlight, forexample, the name or phone number of an individual identified in thedisplayed appointment record as a user-selectable link. When the link isselected, an instruction may be sent to the phone module 306 to initiatea call to the individual associated with the selected item. It may benecessary to associate a selected name (or selected e-mail address forexample) to a phone number for the individual (i.e. the target recipientof the call to be placed) using data contained in an address book, whichis managed by the address book module 304 for example, prior toinitiating the call.

When a call to a target recipient is initiated upon selection of thedata identifying the target recipient in the appointment record, theline selection module 310 may determine the communication line to beused to place the call as a communication line that is associated withthe appointment category associated with the appointment record. Forexample, a business appointment category may be associated with abusiness line such that when a target recipient is identified in thedata of an appointment record associated with that business appointmentcategory and a call to that target recipient is initiated, the lineselection module 310 may select the associated communication lineidentified by the user as the “business” line for placing the call. Lineselection information comprising data identifying, for each of the atleast two appointment categories, which communication line of the atleast two communication lines accessible at device 10 is associatedtherewith, is stored on device 10 for use, for example, by lineselection module 310.

Reference is next made to FIG. 4A, which shows, in diagrammatic form, anexample of a graphical user interface screen (e.g. display screen) foran address book list 400. The address book list screen 400 may begenerated in response to the user selecting the address book icon 304 a(FIG. 2), for example using the thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2). The addressbook list screen 400 includes a list of target recipients denoted byreference 402. The address book entry screen 400 may also be generatedin response to the user selecting the phone module icon 306 a (FIG. 2)and subsequent selection of a menu item.

Selection of a particular target recipient from the list of targetrecipients 402, via the keyboard 32 and/or an auxiliary input device 28such as thumbwheel 28 a, generates an address book entry graphical userinterface or display screen 404, as shown in the example screenillustrated by FIG. 4B. As shown in the example screen, the address bookentry display screen 404 includes one or more of the following: a name406 for the target recipient (e.g. John Smith), a company name 408 withwhich the target recipient is associated (e.g. John Smith Company), aphone number 410 for the target recipient phone number (e.g. (123)456-7890), an e-mail address 412 associated with the target recipient(e.g. john.smith@smithco.com) and notes 414 associated with the targetrecipient.

According to another example embodiment, the address book entry screen404 includes a user selectable line selection field 416, as shown in theexample screen illustrated by FIG. 4C. For example, the user may select“work line” from a drop-down list or a menu. The line selection module310 selects the communication line displayed in the line selection field416 when the user places a call to the target recipient with which theaddress book entry is associated.

As shown in the example screen illustrated by FIG. 4D, the address bookentry screen 404 includes a category field 418. For example, if the userselects the category “work”, the line selection module 310 automaticallyselects the communication line associated with work use, for example,the first communication line. In another example, if the user enters thecategory “friend”, the line selection module 310 selects thecommunication line associated with personal use, for example, the secondcommunication line.

According to another example embodiment, the line selection module 310selects a first communication line for use during a first time periodand a second communication line for use during a second time period. Forexample, a user may wish to automatically use a first communication lineduring work hours and a second communication line after work hours andon weekends.

According to another example embodiment, when a user misses an incomingcall to the device 10 and the caller does not leave a voice mail, amissed call indicator or icon 500 may be displayed on screen 44 (FIG.2), as shown in the example screen illustrated by FIG. 5A. The missedcall indicator 500 may be displayed on the screen 44 (FIG. 2) followinga user prompt using an auxiliary I/O device 28 (FIG. 1), for example,the thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2), or the keyboard 32 (FIG. 2). It should benoted that there may be more than one missed call indicator, for examplea primary indicator such as a missed call icon or an item in a list ofrecent activity (i.e. a call log) and a secondary indicator similar tothe missed call indicator 500 which is displayed on the screen 44 (FIG.2) following a user prompt, as discussed above.

The missed call indicator 500 may include the phone number of the missedcall 502 (e.g. (123) 654-6543). The missed call indicator 500 may alsodisplay the communication line 504 on which the call was made (e.g.“work line”). If the phone number of the missed call 502 corresponds tothe phone number of an individual or entity stored in the address bookmodule 304 (FIG. 3), the missed call indicator 500 may display the name506 (e.g. “Sally Jones”) or any other information associated with theindividual or entity to which the phone number corresponds. The missedcall indicator 500 may also display the time and date of the missed call508.

The user can prompt the device 10 to display to an additional menu 510,as shown in the example screen illustrated by FIG. 5B, via the keyboardand/or an auxiliary input device such as thumbwheel 28 a. The additionalmenu 510 comprises a plurality of selectable items, including an item512 for calling the target recipient (e.g. “Call Sally Jones”). If theuser selects the item 512, the phone module places a call to the targetrecipient. The line selection module 310 (FIG. 3) selects the lineassociated with the target recipient in the address book module 304(FIG. 3), as described above. Alternatively, the line selection module310 (FIG. 3) selects the same communication line that was used the lasttime a call was placed to that target recipient, as stored on the device10 by the microprocessor 38 (FIG. 1). Alternatively, the line selectionmodule 310 selects the communication line on which the missed call wasreceived. Alternatively, the line selection module 310 may select thecommunication line determined to be the communication line mostfrequently used thus far on the device 10, as previously described. Thecommunication line on which the call may be placed may be determined inone or more other ways, in accordance with one or more other embodimentsdescribed herein.

According to another example embodiment, the phone module 306 (FIG. 3)comprises a call log displayed on screen 44 (FIG. 2) as a call log userinterface 600 having a list 602 of recently called target recipientsand/or received calls, missed calls and voice mail messages as shown inthe example screen illustrated by FIG. 6A. It will be appreciated thatthe (primary) missed call indicator mentioned previously may bedisplayed as an item of the list 602.

The user may place a call to a particular target recipient of the list602 by selecting the target recipient using the auxiliary I/O device 28(FIG. 1), for example, the thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2), or the keyboard 32(FIG. 2) in conjunction with the display 22. Selection of the targetrecipient prompts the display of a menu 604, as shown in the examplescreen illustrated by FIG. 6B, via the keyboard 32 and/or an auxiliaryinput device 28 such as thumbwheel 28 a. The menu 604 comprises aplurality of selectable items, including an item 606 for placing a callto the particular target recipient (e.g. “Call (131) 232-2323”). Theline selection module 310 (FIG. 3) may select the same communicationline that was used the last time a call was placed to that targetrecipient, as stored on the device 10 by the microprocessor 38.Alternatively, the line selection module 310 (FIG. 3) may select thecommunication line associated with the target recipient in the addressbook module 304 (FIG. 3), as described above. Alternatively, the lineselection module 310 (FIG. 3) may select the communication line mostfrequently used thus far on the device 10, as previously described. Thecommunication line on which the call may be placed may be determined inone or more other ways, in accordance with one or more other embodimentsdescribed herein.

In another example embodiment, the phone module 306 (FIG. 3) comprises avoice mail system. When a new voice mail message is stored by the phonemodule 306, the device 10 displays a voice mail waiting indicator 700 onscreen 44, as shown in the example screen illustrated by FIG. 7A. Thevoice mail indicator 700 may be displayed on the screen 44 (FIG. 2)following a user prompt received using an auxiliary I/O device 28 (FIG.1), for example, the thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2), or the keyboard 32 (FIG.2). It will be appreciated that there may be more than one voice mailindicator, for example, a primary indicator such as a voice mail icon oran item in a list of recent activity (e.g. a call log) and a secondaryindicator similar to the voice mail waiting indicator 700 which isdisplayed on the display 22 (FIG. 2) following a user prompt, asdiscussed above.

The voice mail waiting indicator 700 may display the communication line702 on which the call was made (e.g. “personal line”) and a phone number704 of the target recipient that left the voice mail (e.g. “(131)321-1234”). If the phone number 704 corresponds to the phone number ofan individual or entity stored in the address book module 304 (FIG. 3),the voice mail indicator 700 may also display a name 706 or any otherinformation of the individual or entity that left the voice mail (e.g.“Home”). The voice mail indicator 700 may also display a time and date708 for the voice mail message.

The user may prompt the display of an additional menu 710, as shown inthe example screen of FIG. 7B via the keyboard and/or an auxiliary inputdevice such as thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2). The menu 710 comprises aplurality of selectable items, including an item 712 for calling thenumber of the individual or entity that left the voice mail (i.e. thetarget recipient if called), e.g. “Call Home”. The line selection module310 (FIG. 3) selects the communication line 702 (FIG. 7A) indicated bythe voice mail waiting indicator 700. Alternatively, the line selectionmodule 310 (FIG. 3) selects the same communication line that was usedthe last time a call was placed to that target recipient, as stored onthe device 10 by the microprocessor 38. Alternatively, the lineselection module 310 (FIG. 3) selects the communication line associatedwith the target recipient in the address book module 304 (FIG. 3), asdescribed above. Alternatively, the line selection module 310 (FIG. 3)may select the communication line most frequently used thus far on thedevice 10, as previously described. The communication line on which thecall may be placed may be determined in one or more other ways, inaccordance with one or more other embodiments described herein.

According to another example embodiment, the messaging module 308 (FIG.3) provides messaging functionality. For example, when an e-mail messageis opened, the screen 44 (FIG. 2) displays an e-mail message graphicaluser interface screen 800, as shown in the example screen illustrated byFIG. 8A. The e-mail message graphical user interface screen 800 isgenerated in response to the user selecting an e-mail message to beviewed or in response to other activity at device 10. It will beappreciated that the e-mail message graphical user interface screen 800may alternatively be a screen display for an SMS message or any othertype of electronic message, for example, as described above.

In one embodiment, the messaging module 308 may be configured to atleast receive messages sent to any of two or more e-mail addressesassociated with at least one user of device 10. Each message address maybe categorized (e.g. as business, personal, etc.) and each category maybe associated with a line (e.g. business line, personal line, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 8A, the e-mail message graphical user interface screen800 may comprise a sender name 802, a list of recipients 804, a subjectof the message 806, a date and/or time the message was sent 808 and amessage body 810. Any of these fields contained in the text of themessage may comprise data associated with a potential target recipient(e.g. name, e-mail address, phone number etc.) to which an outgoing callmay be placed or to which a message may be sent. For example, themessage body 810 may include an e-mail hyperlink 812. The user mayprompt the device 10 display to a menu 814, as shown in the examplescreen illustrated by FIG. 8B, via the keyboard and/or an auxiliaryinput device such as thumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2) by selecting the e-mailhyperlink 812. The menu 814 comprises a plurality of selectable items,including an item 816 for calling the target recipient associated withthe e-mail hyperlink 812. Selection of the item 816 will prompt thephone module 306 to place a call to the target recipient associated withthe e-mail hyperlink 814. The line selection module 310 (FIG. 3) mayselect the communication line associated with the target recipient inthe address book module 304. Alternatively, the line selection module310 (FIG. 3) may select the same communication line that was used thelast time a call was placed to that target recipient, as stored on thedevice 10 by the microprocessor 38. Alternatively, the line selectionmodule 310 (FIG. 3) may select the communication line most frequentlyused thus far on device 10. Alternatively, the line selection module 310(FIG. 3) may select a communication line associated with the e-mailaddress of the user of the device at which the message was received(e.g. recipient address 804 “bob.jones@smithco.com”). As previouslynoted, a business e-mail address may be associated with a business line,such that when a target recipient is identified in the text of an e-mailmessage received at the user's business e-mail address and a call tothat target recipient is initiated (e.g. by selecting the text in themessage), the line selection module 310 may select the associatedcommunication line identified by the user as the “business” line forplacing the call. The communication line on which the call may be placedmay be determined in one or more other ways, in accordance with one ormore other embodiments described herein.

According to another example embodiment, selection of the item 816prompts the phone module 306 (FIG. 3) to place a call to the targetrecipient associated with the e-mail author or sender 802. The lineselection module 310 (FIG. 3) may select the communication lineassociated with the e-mail author or sender 802 as determined by theaddress book module 304 (FIG. 3). Alternatively, the line selectionmodule 310 may select the same communication line that was used the lasttime a call was placed to that target recipient, as stored on the device10 by the microprocessor 38. Alternatively, the line selection module310 (FIG. 3) may select the communication line most frequently used thusfar on device 10. Alternatively, the line selection module 310 (FIG. 3)may select a communication line associated with the e-mail address ofthe user of the device at which the message was received (e.g. recipientaddress 804 “bob.jones@smithco.com”). As previously noted, a businesse-mail address may be associated with a business line, such that when ane-mail message is received at the user's business e-mail address, theline selection module 310 may select the associated communication lineidentified by the user as the “business” line for placing the call. Thecommunication line on which the call may be placed may be determined inone or more other ways, in accordance with one or more other embodimentsdescribed herein.

According to another example embodiment, the user prompts the device 10to display a line selection setup user interface screen 900 as shown inthe example screen illustrated by FIG. 9A. The line selection setupscreen 900 may be displayed in response to a line selection icon (notshown). The line selection setup user interface screen 900 may also beprompted via a user selectable item in a phone module user interfacescreen (not shown). Through the line selection setup screen 900, theuser may activate or deactivate various line selection configurations,and enter other information to configure line selection functionality ondevice 10.

The user may enter a company name (e.g. “John Smith Company”) in a field902 in the line selection setup screen 900. The company name 902 may bestored in association with a user-selectable communication line 904(e.g. a work line) so that whenever a phone call is made to the targetrecipient associated with that company, the line selection module 310(FIG. 3) selects that selected communication line 904. This company name902 may be the user's own company name, for example.

The line selection setup screen 900 may comprise a number ofuser-selectable items, such as an item 906 for selecting an option toalways use a particular communication line, such as a default line 908.The line selection setup screen 900 may also include an optionalfunction 910 for selecting which communication line to use as thedefault line.

The line selection setup screen 900 may also comprise an optionalfunction for selecting a first time period 912 during which to select afirst communication line 914 and a second time period 916 during whichto select a second communication line 918 as described above.

The line selection setup screen 900 may include setup options orfunctions 920 for assigning alternate communication lines to certaincategories or line selection fields, as described above with referenceto FIG. 4D for example. In some embodiments, there may be other setupoptions or controls 921 provided allowing users to assign differentcommunication lines to different message addresses at which messages maybe received at device 10 and managed by messaging module 308 (FIG. 3).

According to another example embodiment, the user prompts the device todisplay a user interface screen 930, as shown in the example screenillustrated by FIG. 9B, that may be similar to the graphical userinterface screen for the address book list 400. This user interfacescreen 930 comprises a list 932 of target recipients. Each of the targetrecipients 932 includes a line selection indicator 934 that indicateswhich outgoing communication line will be selected by the line selectionmodule 310 (FIG. 3) as described above with respect to otherembodiments. The user may elect to change the selected communicationline indicated by the line selection indicator 934 using suitable meansfor line selection, such as the line selection field 416 describedpreviously.

According to another example embodiment, the calendar module 305 (FIG.3) may be configured to manage appointment records stored on device 10.When an appointment record is selected, the screen 44 (FIG. 2) displaysan appointment record graphical user interface screen 1000, as shown inthe example screen illustrated by FIG. 10A. The appointment recordgraphical user interface screen 1000 may be generated in response to theuser selecting an appointment record from a menu displayed to a user bycalendar module 305 or in response to some other activity at device 10.

As shown in the example of FIG. 10A, the appointment record graphicaluser interface screen 1000 may comprise data associated with, forexample, an appointment date 1001, appointment times 1002 comprising astart time and an end time, a location 1003, an attendance list 1004,and/or notes 1005. The appointment record graphical user interfacescreen 1000 may comprise a category field 1006 for identifying anappointment category associated with the appointment. An appointmentrecord may comprise data that identifies one or more potential targetrecipients (e.g. names 1007, e-mail addresses or other data in the notes1005, etc.) for a call.

The user may prompt the device 10 to display a menu 1008, as shown inthe example screen illustrated by FIG. 10B, in response to a user'sselection of a data item that identifies a potential target recipientfor a call, via the keyboard and/or an auxiliary input device such asthumbwheel 28 a (FIG. 2) for example. The menu 1008 may comprise aplurality of selectable items, including an item 1009 that may beselected by a user to initiate a call to the target recipient identifiedby the selected data (e.g. name 1007). Selection of the item 1009prompts the phone module 306 to place a call to the target recipientidentified by the selected data (e.g. name 1007). As previously noted,it may be necessary to associate a selected name (or selected e-mailaddress for example) to a phone number for the individual (i.e. thetarget recipient of the call to be placed) using data contained in anaddress book, which is managed by the address book module 304 forexample, prior to initiating the call. The line selection module 310(FIG. 3) may select the communication line associated with theappointment category 1006. Alternatively, the line selection module 310may select the communication line associated with the target recipientin the address book module 304. Alternatively, the line selection module310 (FIG. 3) may select the same communication line that was used thelast time a call was placed to that target recipient, as stored on thedevice 10 by the microprocessor 38. Alternatively, the line selectionmodule 310 (FIG. 3), may select the communication line most frequentlyused thus far on the device 10 as previously described. Thecommunication line on which the call may be placed may be determined inone or more other ways, in accordance with one or more other embodimentsdescribed herein.

According to another example embodiment, the line selection module 310may consider a combination of factors to determine a priority rankingfor each of at least two communication lines accessible at the device10. The factors may comprise one or more of the factors describedpreviously in the present description, and may further comprise otherfactors. For example, the priority ranking may be determined based on ascore computed from rank values associated with at least two factorsselected from a group of determined factors consisting of: acommunication line last used for calling the target recipient, acommunication line associated with the target recipient identified in anaddress book, a communication line most frequently used on the device, acommunication line associated with a message address, a communicationline associated with a time of day, a communication line associated withan appointment record, and a default communication line. Other factorsmay be considered in variant embodiments. A weighting scheme may also beemployed in determining the priority ranking for a particularcommunication line, wherein each of the various rank values ofcorresponding factors may be assigned a pre-defined weight.

For example, the communication line that was used the last time a callwas placed to a target recipient may be associated with a weightingscore of three, while the line most frequently used thus far on thedevice may be associated with a weighting score of one. As the lineselection module 310 considers each factor, a cumulative tally istracked for each communication line based on the weighting scores forthe factors being considered to compute a total score for eachcommunication line. The display module 22 may then display a listing ofthe communication lines, from which the user may select a communicationline to place a call to the target recipient. The communication linesidentified in the listing are displayed in order of their total scores(i.e. their priority ranking). The communication line for which thehighest total score has been computed may be shown at the top of themenu. In variant embodiments, the communication line used to place thecall to the target recipient may be automatically selected based on thepriority rankings. For example, the communication line with the highestpriority ranking may be automatically used to place the call withoutrequiring the display of a listing or user selection of a line from thelisting.

The weighting scheme to be employed may be flexible, and may, forinstance, depend on the context of the placed call. For example, theweighting scheme to be employed when placing a call to a targetrecipient identified by a user-selected e-mail address in a message maybe different from the weighting scheme to be employed when a call is tobe placed upon selecting a target recipient from an address book.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, in which a flowchart illustrating actsperformed in a method of placing a call on a communication line selectedfrom at least two communication lines on which outgoing calls are placedusing a mobile device in one example embodiment is shown generally as1100. Further details of this example embodiment and related variantembodiments have been described earlier in the present description.

At 1102, the initiation of a call to a target recipient is monitored forat the mobile device. This act may be performed by an input moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example.

Upon detecting initiation of the call to the target recipient at 1102,at 1104, a determination is made as to which of the at least twocommunication lines is a communication line most frequently used on themobile device. This act may be performed by a line selection moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example. The determination may bemade only on the basis of the communication lines used to place outgoingcalls using the mobile device. However, in variant embodiments, thedetermination may be made additionally or alternatively on the basis ofthe communication lines on which incoming calls are received at themobile device. The determination may be made on the basis of callsplaced and/or received within a pre-defined period of time (e.g. thelast seven days, last 30 days). The determination may be made on thebasis of calls placed to and/or received from any individual or entity,or on the basis of calls placed to and/or received from a particularpre-defined subset of one or more individuals or entities (i.e. targetrecipients and/or potential target recipients).

At 1106, the call to the target recipient is placed on the communicationline of the at least two communication lines determined at 1104. This isthe communication line determined to be the most frequently used on themobile device. This act may be performed by a communication moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example.

At 1108, line selection information comprising line selection dataidentifying the communication line on which the call is placed to thetarget recipient at 1106 is stored. This act may be performed by a lineselection module executed at the mobile device, for example.

In variant embodiments, the method further comprises monitoring for thereception of a call at the mobile device, and storing the line selectioninformation comprising line selection data identifying the communicationon which the call is received at the mobile device. These acts may beperformed by a phone module and/or a line selection module executed atthe mobile device, for example. The stored line selection informationmay be used in subsequent determinations of the most frequently usedcommunication line (e.g. at 1104).

Reference is now made to FIG. 12, in which a flowchart illustrating actsperformed in a method of placing a call on a communication line selectedfrom at least two communication lines on which outgoing calls are placedusing a mobile device in one example embodiment is shown generally as1200. Further details of this example embodiment and related variantembodiments have been described earlier in the present description.

At 1202, line selection information comprising data identifying, foreach of the two or more message addresses, which communication line ofthe at least two communication lines is associated therewith is stored.The stored line selection information may be used in subsequentdeterminations of the communication line to be used when placing a callto a target recipient identified in a message received at any of the twoor more message addresses. This act may be performed by a line selectionmodule executed at the mobile device, for example.

At 1204, a message comprising data identifying a target recipient isreceived at one of the two or more message addresses. The message may beprocessed by a messaging module executed at the mobile device, forexample. The message may comprise, for example, an e-mail message, aninstant message, or an SMS message. The data identifying the targetrecipient in the message may comprise, for example, a name, an e-mailaddress, or a phone number.

The messaging module, or other module, may be further programmed todetect selection of the data identifying the target recipient in themessage in a user interface of the mobile device by a user, and toinitiate a call to the target recipient upon selection of the dataidentifying the target recipient in the message.

At 1206, the initiation of a call to a target recipient is monitored forat the mobile device. This act may be performed by an input moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example.

Upon detecting initiation of the call to the target recipient at 1206,at 1208, a determination is made as to which of the at least twocommunication lines is a communication line associated with the one ofthe two or more message addresses at which the message is received at1204. This act may be performed by a line selection module executed atthe mobile device, for example.

At 1210, the call to the target recipient is placed on the communicationline of the at least two communication lines determined at 1208. Thisact may be performed by a communication module executed at the mobiledevice, for example.

Reference is now made to FIG. 13, in which a flowchart illustrating actsperformed in a method of placing a call on a communication line selectedfrom at least two communication lines on which outgoing calls are placedusing a mobile device in one example embodiment is shown generally as1300. Further details of this example embodiment and related variantembodiments have been described earlier in the present description.

Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 13, a record of the appointmentcategory with which the appointment record is associated may be storedprior to the act of identifying an appointment record, as may beselected by a user in a user interface (e.g. see category field 1006 ofFIG. 10A).

At 1302, line selection information comprising data identifying, foreach of the at least two appointment categories, which communicationline of the at least two communication lines is associated therewith isstored. The stored line selection information may be used in subsequentdeterminations of the communication line to be used when placing a callto a target recipient identified in an appointment record. This act maybe performed by a line selection module executed at the mobile device,for example.

At 1304, an appointment record comprising data identifying a targetrecipient is identified. The appointment record is associated with aselected one of at least two appointment categories, and one of the atleast two communication lines is associated with the selected one of theat least two appointment categories. This act may be performed by aninput module coupled to a calendar module executed at the mobile device,for example. The data identifying the target recipient in theappointment record may comprise, for example, a name, an e-mail address,or a phone number.

The calendar module, or other module, may be programmed to detectselection of the data identifying the target recipient in theappointment record in a user interface of the mobile device by a user,and to initiate a call to the target recipient upon selection of thedata identifying the target recipient in the appointment record.

At 1306, the initiation of a call to a target recipient is monitored forat the mobile device. This act may be performed by an input moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example.

Upon detecting initiation of the call to the target recipient at 1306,at 1308, a determination is made as to which of the at least twocommunication lines is the communication line associated with theselected one of the at least two appointment categories identified at1304. This act may be performed by a line selection module executed atthe mobile device.

At 1310, the call to the target recipient is placed on the communicationline of the at least two communication lines determined at 1308. Thisact may be performed by a communication module executed at the mobiledevice, for example.

In a variant embodiment, a particular appointment record may initiallynot have a category associated with it, and accordingly, the user may berequired to manually select a communication line on which a call is tobe placed, if the call is initiated after a user selection of dataidentifying a target recipient provided within the particularappointment record. However, if the appointment record is associatedwith a recurring appointment, a category may be assigned to instances ofthe appointment record associated with future appointments and stored onthe mobile device, based on the manually selected communication line.For example, if a business line was manually selected in order to placea call that was initiated after a user selection of data identifying atarget recipient provided within the particular appointment record for arecurring appointment, instances of the appointment record associatedwith subsequent occurrences may be classified as “business”appointments. That category information may be stored so that the nexttime a call is initiated after a user selection of data identifying atarget recipient provided within an appointment record in respect ofthat recurring appointment, the business line will be used to place thatcall.

Reference is now made to FIG. 14, in which a flowchart illustrating actsperformed in a method of placing a call on a communication line selectedfrom at least two communication lines on which outgoing calls are placedusing a mobile device in one example embodiment is shown generally as1400. Further details of this example embodiment and related variantembodiments have been described earlier in the present description.

At 1402, the initiation of a call to a target recipient is monitored forat the mobile device. This act may be performed by an input moduleexecuted at the mobile device, for example.

Upon detecting initiation of the call to the target recipient at 1402,at 1404, a determination of a priority ranking is made for each of theat least two communication lines. This act may be performed by a lineselection module executed at the mobile device. Each priority rankingmay be determined based on a score computed from rank values associatedwith at least two factors selected from a number of factors. The rankvalue associated with each of the at least two factors may be determinedat the time the priority ranking for the particular communication lineis determined, or it may be pre-determined and updated periodically, forexample. The factors for which rank values may be computed for aparticular communication line may include for example, withoutlimitation: whether the communication line was last used for calling thetarget recipient, whether the communication line is associated with thetarget recipient as identified in an address book, whether thecommunication line is determined to be the most frequently usedcommunication line on the device, whether the communication line isassociated with a message address of one or more messages received atthe device, whether the communication line is associated with a time ofday, whether the communication line is associated with an appointmentrecord, whether the communication line is a default communication line.Different factors and/or other factors may be considered in variantembodiments. Each factor may be ordered in accordance with a priorityranking scheme, which may be pre-defined to identify which factors areto be given higher priority over others. For example, the rank valuesassociated with the factors may be assigned weights according to aweighting scheme.

At 1406, a listing that identifies each of the at least twocommunication lines in order of priority rankings determined at 1404 isdisplayed to a user through a user interface of the mobile device. Thisact may be performed by a display module executed at the mobile device,for example.

At 1408, a user-selected communication line of the at least twocommunication lines from the listing displayed at 1406 is determined.This act may be performed by a line selection module executed at themobile device, for example.

At 1410, the call to the target recipient is placed on the communicationline of the at least two communication lines determined at 1408. This isthe communication line selected by the user from the listing displayedon the mobile device at 1406. This act may be performed by acommunication module executed at the mobile device, for example.

In variant embodiments, the communication line used to place the call tothe target recipient may be automatically selected based on the priorityrankings. For example, the communication line with the highest priorityranking may be automatically used to place the call without requiringthe display of a listing (at 1406) or user selection of a line from thelisting (at 1408).

It should be noted that while in the above description, a number ofexample embodiments have been described independently, features ofmultiple embodiments may also be combined. For example, if a call isplaced to a target recipient associated with a particular address bookentry, the line selection module 310 (FIG. 3) may select thecommunication line associated with that particular address book entry.If the target recipient is not associated with an address book entry,the line selection module 310 may select the line associated with theperiod of the day during which the call is placed.

It will also be understood that while in the above description, theentering of information, selection of items, and the like is performedusing the device 10, it is equally possibly these tasks be performedusing a computer, for example a desktop computer, in communication withthe device 10.

It is to be appreciated that the foregoing embodiments are exemplary anddo not limit their implementation to any particular computer programminglanguage, operating system, system architecture or device architecture.Moreover, although some embodiments may include mobile devices, not allembodiments are limited to mobile devices. Various embodiments may beimplemented within a variety of communications devices or terminals,including handheld devices, mobile telephones, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), personal computers, audio-visual terminals,televisions, landline telephony devices and other devices.

The acts performed in respect of a method described herein in accordancewith any of the embodiments described herein may be provided asexecutable software instructions stored on computer-readable media,which may include transmission-type media.

As used herein, the wording “and/or” is intended to represent aninclusive-or. That is, “X and/or Y” is intended to mean X or Y or both.Moreover, “X, Y, and/or Z” is intended to mean X or Y or Z or anycombination thereof.

Furthermore, embodiments described herein may be implemented in otherforms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristicsthereof. Certain adaptations and modifications of the invention will beobvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the embodimentsdescribed herein are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive,the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims ratherthe foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaningand range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to beembraced therein.

1. A method of placing a telephone call on a communication line selectedfrom a plurality of communication lines on which outgoing telephonecalls are placed using a mobile device, wherein the mobile device isconfigured to receive an e-mail message at the mobile device at any of aplurality of e-mail message addresses, the method comprising: receivinginput identifying an e-mail message address, of the plurality of e-mailmessage addresses, at which the e-mail message is to be received at themobile device, and a communication line, of the plurality ofcommunication lines on which outgoing telephone calls are placed usingthe mobile device, associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message is to be received at the mobile device; storing lineselection information comprising data identifying the communication lineof the plurality of communication lines associated with the e-mailmessage address, wherein each communication line in the plurality ofcommunication lines has a phone number associated therewith; receivingthe e-mail message at the e-mail message address, the e-mail messagecomprising data identifying a target recipient; monitoring forinitiation of a telephone call to the target recipient; upon detectingthe initiation of the telephone call to the target recipient,determining which of the plurality of communication lines is thecommunication line associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message comprising data identifying the target recipient wasreceived; and placing the telephone call to the target recipient on thecommunication line determined as the communication line associated withthe e-mail message address at which the e-mail message comprising dataidentifying the target recipient was received.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the data identifying the target recipient in the e-mail messagecomprises at least one data item associated with the target recipientselected from a group consisting of a name, an e-mail address, and aphone number.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detectingselection of the data identifying the target recipient in the e-mailmessage in a user interface of the mobile device; and initiating thetelephone call to the target recipient upon detecting selection of thedata identifying the target recipient in the e-mail message.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further comprising: highlighting the data identifyingthe target recipient in the e-mail message as a user-selectable link ina user interface of the mobile device.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe target recipient is not a sender of the e-mail message received atthe one of the plurality of e-mail message addresses.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: associating the data identifying the targetrecipient to a phone number for the target recipient, using datacontained in an address book, prior to placing the call to the targetrecipient.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the input comprises userinput.
 8. A mobile device, wherein the mobile device provides access toa plurality of communication lines on which outgoing telephone calls areplaced, and wherein the mobile device is configured to receive an e-mailmessage at the mobile device at any of a plurality of e-mail messageaddresses, the mobile device comprising: a module for receiving inputidentifying an e-mail message address, of the plurality of e-mailmessage addresses, at which the e-mail message is to be received at themobile device, and a communication line, of the plurality ofcommunication lines on which outgoing telephone calls are placed usingthe mobile device, associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message is to be received at the mobile device; a messagingmodule programmed to receive the e-mail message at the e-mail messageaddress, the e-mail message comprising data identifying a targetrecipient; an input module programmed to monitor for initiation of atelephone call to the target recipient; a line selection moduleprogrammed to store line selection information comprising dataidentifying the communication line of the plurality of communicationlines associated with the e-mail message address, wherein eachcommunication line in the plurality of communication lines has a phonenumber associated therewith, and further programmed to determine, upondetecting the initiation of the telephone call to the target recipient,which of the plurality of communication lines is the communication lineassociated with the e-mail message address at which the e-mail messagecomprising data identifying the target recipient was received; and acommunication module programmed to place the telephone call to thetarget recipient on the communication line determined as thecommunication line associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message comprising data identifying the target recipient wasreceived.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the data identifying thetarget recipient in the e-mail message comprises at least one data itemassociated with the target recipient selected from a group consisting ofa name, an e-mail address, and a phone number.
 10. The device of claim8, wherein the messaging module is further programmed to: detectselection of the data identifying the target recipient in the e-mailmessage in a user interface of the mobile device; and initiate thetelephone call to the target recipient upon detecting selection of thedata identifying the target recipient in the e-mail message.
 11. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the messaging module is further programmedto: highlight the data identifying the target recipient in the e-mailmessage as a user-selectable link in a user interface of the mobiledevice.
 12. The device of claim 8, wherein the target recipient is not asender of the e-mail message received at the one of the plurality ofe-mail message addresses.
 13. The device of claim 8, further comprisingan address book module, and wherein the messaging module is furtherprogrammed to: associate the data identifying the target recipient to aphone number for the target recipient, using data contained in anaddress book managed by the address book module, prior to placing thecall to the target recipient.
 14. The device of claim 8, wherein theinput comprises user input.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium upon which instructions are stored for performing, on a mobiledevice, a method of placing a telephone call on a communication lineselected from a plurality of communication lines on which outgoing callsare placed using a mobile device, wherein the mobile device isconfigured to receive an e-mail message at the mobile device at any of aplurality of e-mail message addresses, the method comprising: receivinginput identifying an e-mail message address, of the plurality of e-mailmessage addresses, at which the e-mail message is to be received at themobile device, and a communication line, of the plurality ofcommunication lines on which outgoing telephone calls are placed usingthe mobile device, associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message is to be received at the mobile device; storing lineselection information comprising data identifying the communication lineof the plurality of communication lines associated with the e-mailmessage address, wherein each communication line in the plurality ofcommunication lines has a phone number associated therewith; receivingthe e-mail message at the email message address, the e-mail messagecomprising data identifying a target recipient; monitoring forinitiation of a telephone call to the target recipient; upon detectingthe initiation of the telephone call to the target recipient,determining which of the plurality of communication lines is thecommunication line associated with the e-mail message address at whichthe e-mail message comprising data identifying the target recipient wasreceived; and placing the telephone call to the target recipient on thecommunication line determined as the communication line associated withthe e-mail message address at which the e-mail message comprising dataidentifying a target recipient was received.
 16. The medium of claim 15,wherein the data identifying the target recipient in the e-mail messagecomprises at least one data item associated with the target recipientselected from a group consisting of a name, an e-mail address, and aphone number.
 17. The medium of claim 15, wherein the method furthercomprises: detecting selection of the data identifying the targetrecipient in the e-mail message in a user interface of the mobiledevice; and initiating the telephone call to the target recipient upondetecting selection of the data identifying the target recipient in thee-mail message.
 18. The medium of claim 17, wherein the method furthercomprises: highlighting the data identifying the target recipient in thee-mail message as a user-selectable link in a user interface of themobile device.
 19. The medium of claim 15, wherein the target recipientis not a sender of the e-mail message received at the one of theplurality of e-mail message addresses.
 20. The medium of claim 15,wherein the method further comprises: associating the data identifyingthe target recipient to a phone number for the target recipient, usingdata contained in an address book, prior to placing the call to thetarget recipient.
 21. The medium of claim 15, wherein the inputcomprises user input.